Hasegawa could not imagine why Mirai had not taken shelter in the clothing store from the blast outside. It seemed like the best option at the moment. Yet Mirai, as though he could see through the trap inside, gave it a casual glance before decisively choosing to stay away.
"Ninja Art—Phantom Separation!" Mirai had no idea Hasegawa was still astonished by his choice. He formed hand seals steadily as he raced forward at high speed, using a new ninjutsu he had developed from Separation half a month ago.
A cloud of thick smoke enveloped Mirai before swiftly dispersing. Once the smoke cleared, four identical doubles had appeared beside him.
The doubles created by Phantom Separation were the same as those created by Separation. They were merely afterimages, not physical entities. They still could not attack or defend, and could still be broken by special methods.
However, as long as Mirai supplied them with chakra through chakra threads, the four doubles could remain active. Under his control, they could also evade and make attacking motions to confuse the enemy.
So long as the opponent had no special detection method, they would be highly effective at causing confusion.
Mirai knew these attacks were aimed at him. He also knew he had to stall for as long as possible, so he decisively used the Phantom Separation Technique, hoping it would confuse his opponents and create an opportunity for escape.
Mirai knew that with such a huge commotion, the Konoha Guard would certainly arrive soon. He only needed to stall for a little longer. The urgent matter was to kill the people after him.
The four doubles moved about at his side under his casual control. Remaining alert to the danger around him, Mirai hurried forward, intending to first leave the blast zone surrounding